LilSugar

Forgive Husband For Missing Child's Birth Because of Work?

LilSugar — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 09:00:00 -0800

In a recent episode of Brothers and Sisters, Kitty and Robert's baby was born. While Kitty dashed to the hospital to be by the birth mother's side, Robert got held up at work and later had a medical emergency that kept him from witnessing the arrival of their son, Evan. Would you forgive your partner for missing such a monumental milestone because of work?

Photos courtesy of ABC

Appropriate to Sell Kid's Girl Scout Cookies at Work?

LilSugar — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 10:00:37 -0800

School aged kids always have something to sell from Girl Scout cookies to World's Finest chocolate bars and wrapping paper to magazine subscriptions. While fundraisers often offset education or activity costs, is it appropriate for parents to peddle their child's wares to co-workers at the office?

How Does Your Work Influence Your Choices?

babysugar — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 09:00:31 -0800

A woman's got to do what a woman's got to do. Whether she's stripping to pay for her daughter's education or arguing court cases in front of the Supreme Court, moms often find a way to make ends meet to take care of their cubs at home. Some mommies are more proud of their professions while others try to hide the truth from their children. As one of Hollywood's biggest stars, Angelina Jolie's job makes it quite difficult for her to keep her job a secret.

Not ashamed of her roles, the mother of six sat down with UK Harper's Bazaar and chatted about the movie roles she chooses to play.

I tell stories that are about the type of woman I'd want to meet. The type of woman where I think, even if it's silly characters I've played, like in Tomb Raider, there's something about her that will be fun for my daughters to see one day.

When you clock in every day, do you consider how your job affects your offspring and their opinion of you?

What's Your Ideal Work Schedule?

LilSugar — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 09:00:02 -0800

Last night's episode of Jon and Kate Plus 8 touched on Jon's new job and flexible work schedule which allows the father of eight, to spend more time at home with his wife and kids.

Balancing work and family is a dilemma moms and dads continually face. And, unfortunately many working parents have to make sacrifices in order to keep up with the cost of living.

In a dream world, what would you choose?

Source

Have You Chosen Family Over Career?

babysugar — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 11:00:28 -0800

Nobody ever said being a working mom would be easy. It takes some carefully coordinated scheduling, a lot of trust and nerves of steel to make it all come together each day. While some mamas make the choice to stay home once their baby is born and others return to work, there is a subset that chooses to return to the workforce, but to a less grueling schedule – one that does not offer as much career advancement, but allows mom to fulfill her desire or need to work while having the flexibility to attend school plays, soccer practice and field trips.

On last night's episode of Modern Family, Mitchell had enough of his boss' weekend work requests and missing his daughter's milestones. When the law firm partner asked him to come in on a Sunday, he fumbled for an excuse and blurted out, "I have plans to stay at home with family and do absolutely nothing."

Have you chosen your family over your career goals?

OnSugar Blog: The Boss

OnSugar Blog — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 14:00:08 -0800

Lots of moms think out loud, and Tiffany Carboni does too. The Boss comes from the Mother Tongue & Other Sharp Objects blog at OnSugar.

My boss is a tyrant. She screams, flies off the handle, can’t effectively communicate her needs, and yet she expects me to work productively with a smile on my face each and every day. There are days I’m ready to have a serious conversation with her explaining why I’m going to quit and take a better, higher paying job with someone who will respect me.

But since she’s only 32-inches tall and is currently running around with a yogurt-baked bean slime streak in her hair while hitting the sofa with a squeaky hammer, I am reminded why I’m holding back.

Throughout my 10-plus years in the workforce, I have worked some very interesting jobs in which I have dealt with people of all temperaments. As a senior editor of two well-regarded magazines, I have met dignitaries and celebrities in the art and design world. As a film and television location manager and, before that, a production assistant, I dealt directly with movie producers and directors, famous actors and musicians.

In other words, I have dealt with my share of egotistical, self-righteous blow-hards who can sometimes be unbelievably ill-mannered. But, it wasn’t until I became a mother that I realized how good I had had it back then even with the most egregious of adult tempers.

No matter how bad any of those other jobs got or how out-of-control some of the demands I had to negotiate, I never came across anyone who thought it proper form to disagree by head-butting me. To finish reading this post, click here.

Want to see more? Start following OnSugar blog Mother Tongue & Other Sharp Objects or start your own OnSugar blog. We may just feature your content on LilSugar.

Do Working Mothers Choose to Give Up Their Leisure Time?

LilSugar — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 11:00:59 -0800

If a man's work is from sun to sun, but a mother's work is never done, then a working mother has no chance. Though all moms could use a break from their activities for a little "mom-me time," there is little doubt that those who work outside the home have smaller windows of opportunity to do something for themselves.

In an interesting article in The Washington Post, a working mom took a hard look at her life to see exactly where her time goes. After seeing that she didn't have any for herself, she turned to Rachel Connelly, a labor economist at Bowdoin College to determine why. Connelly explained:

The revolutionary change of women entering the work force - 47 percent of mothers of school-age children worked in 1975, compared with 71 percent in 2007, according to federal statistics - coincided, she said, with intensified expectations of what it takes to be a good parent, particularly in middle-class families. But there are still only 24 hours in a day. To make it all fit, mothers slacked off on housework and gave up their personal leisure to spend their limited free time with their kids.

“My mother was home all day, so on the weekend, what did she want to do? Get away from us as fast as she possibly could and take my father with her. They went out every Saturday night. But now, mothers are employed. We see it as essential that we spend time with our kids. We don’t want to be away from them. On the other hand, we’re never away from them.”

Do you give up any personal time you may have to spend it with your kids, or do you find time to carve out some time for yourself?

LilSugar Community: Poo, the Great Equalizer

Lil Community — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:30:17 -0700

This post was submitted by Tiffany Carboni in The Mommy Club group over in the LilSugar Community.
Matty was a woman of many distinguished titles. After graduating high school as an honors student, she went on to complete her master’s degree a semester ahead of schedule. She was her class valedictorian and made a brilliant speech that was revered by her esteemed professors and mentors.

Her career accomplishments were astounding. By the age of 25, she climbed up to a management position at a prestigious tech firm and became the company’s director by age 29. She and her husband were invited to every party on the circuit. She was a household name in her industry and everyone tried to woo her to competing companies offering her ungodly amounts of money. Her net worth at the age of 32 was mind-blowing, but she was missing something from her life-a family.

When she got pregnant, her company’s CEO smiled politely and congratulated her. He knew. Her work friends rejoiced for her happiness but with an undeniable undertone of glumness. They knew. Her jealous colleagues smiled with spiteful delight. They knew.

For the next few months, Matty tried to convince everyone that nothing would change after she returned from maternity leave. She was convinced of it herself. Even on the day her water broke, during an important client meeting, Matty hurriedly waddled out the door apologizing for the wet leather seat but assuring everyone that she’d be back in six weeks ready to go with the project.

She had no idea what the next 48 hours, let alone the next few years, would hold for her. The answer she found out was a whole lot of poo. To finish this post, click here.

Talk about motherly things on your mind at The Mommy Club group over in the LilSugar Community.

What Benefits Make Work Life Balance a Reality?

LilSugar — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 09:00:45 -0700

Working parents know that there are choices and sacrifices that must be made when juggling their home and office commitments. Our own Commander-in-Chief recently lamented the events and milestones he missed while on the campaign trail or attending meetings, but whether or not those choices define success in the business world is still up for debate.

As the number of dual-income families continues to rise, many employers are trying to help mom and dad maintain some sort of work-life balance with programs and tools designed to reduce their levels of stress. The White House has given aides with tots priority in receiving laptops and has offered for aides' children to use the newly installed swing set and swimming pool in hopes that parents will see their offspring more. Many private companies offer flex hours to allow parents to work from home or finish up work once the kids have been tucked into bed. What benefits would be most helpful to you as a working parent?

Did You Experience an Office Baby Boom?

LilSugar — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 10:00:36 -0800

Stay away from the water cooler! Don't be surprised if employers begin doubting scientific claims that pregnancy is not contagious.With fertility rates climbing through the roof, offices around the country are experiencing a baby boom that doesn't show any signs of stopping. According to the Census Bureau's American Community Survey, 61 percent of new or expectant mothers worked in 2008, up from 56 percent in the preceding three years. Here at Sugar, we welcomed nine bundles of joy over the course of the past year, and we are already expecting two more this year.

Going through pregnancy with co-workers can make the nine months easier. Colleagues share eating and sleeping tips and can bounce ideas off of each other. According to The Wall Street Journal, a growing number of companies are welcoming their workforce pregnancies "through flexibility, child-care help or babies-at-work programs."

Did you experience a baby boom at your office?